Arrested Boca parents call 'open house party' a home invasion

Theirs was the second Boca Raton party busted up within a week

The second set of Boca Raton parents to be charged within a week for holding an "open house party" is claiming they are victims of a home invasion.

Paul and Ingrid Paolino say three stretch limousines dumped 30 to 40 uninvited students on their doorstep on Sunday, and the party-crashers brought their own booze.

"The sight of seeing these many students or teens come out of a limo, it was packed, it was like a New York City subway train in rush hour," Paul Paolino said.

"Believe me, I don't want a lot of kids in my house like what happened two weeks ago, 50 to 100 or 400 kids laying on my lawn," his wife, Ingrid Paolino said, referring to the Boca Raton Police report of about 500 teenagers drinking at a mansion in The Sanctuary a week earlier, on Oct. 10.

The Paolinos admit to hosting a private homecoming after-party for their daughter Lauren, 17, and about 30 friends and classmates from Boca Raton High School.

They suspect someone who was not invited wanted to disrupt the party by anonymously calling the police to report a fight involving 50 people.

Boca Raton Police found there was no fight, according to a police report.

Ingrid Paolino said her daughter had warned her that some uninvited classmates were pressuring Lauren to add them to the guest list at the last minute.

"It's other kids intruding, not belonging, upset they weren't invited, that type of thing because my daughter had already gotten that feeling [when] leaving the [earlier] party at Boca High," she said.

Several officers found about 50 teenagers standing or hiding around the Paolino house and property, in the 2800 block of Spanish River Road, and those with alcohol appeared to be younger than 21, according to the police report.

"I observed beer containers and cups containing alcohol lying all over the tables. There was a case of beer hidden in a bush and a keg of beer in the backyard," Officer Douglas Immler wrote in his report, complete with photographic evidence.

"Up to this point I haven't seen that case of beer they were talking about or the keg, just a photo of the keg," Paul Paolino said. "I have not seen any case of beer they claim was hidden in the bushes."

"I really should have said 'no' and I'm sorry I didn't say that," Ingrid Paolino added. "But when I had all those kids come through here, it was out of control and I really couldn't keep track of the alcohol which they were bringing in."

Charles Kowanetz, 18, told authorities the party was for seniors at Boca Raton High School who were celebrating homecoming, according to the police report. He said underage guests could buy wristbands to drink from the beer keg. The Paolinos knew about the party, he said, and they knew the teens were drinking alcohol, but he didn't know where the alcohol came from.

At that point the Paolinos were arrested for hosting an open house party and Kowanetz was arrested for possession of alcohol by a minor, according to the report. All were given notices to appear in court.

"I would prefer to have them at my house in my sight where I could monitor them or stop them instead of them being somewhere else where I have no control over it," Paul Paolino said on Wednesday of teenage drinking.

His wife thinks the incident was overblown.

"What took place here was minor compared to the other couple," Ingrid Paolino said. "I don't condone it but it was really blown [out of proportion]. It was overkill."

Paul Paolino also thinks his family is being portrayed as villains.

"Going through hell; going through hell, which a lot of people think we deserve," he said. "But when the shoe's on the other foot, who's really an angel these days?"